An alliterative tale about four fox kits who go hunting for meat, while their gourmet brother fixes a vegetarian feast.

Review by
Booklist Review

Ages 5-8. When Mom goes on vacation, leaving Fosdyke in charge of the fox hole, kits Flo, Floyd, Frank, and Freddy figure it's high time to test their farmyard foraging skills. Their futile endeavors, which Edwards raucously relays with a hearty dependence on words beginning with the letter F, will have kids in stitches in no time. The tidy text bounces along nicely, and children are sure to enjoy identifying the objects beginning with F that Cole has cleverly worked into the sprightly paintings--" We counted at least 60. Can you do better?" (Reviewed Sept. 1, 1995)0060249250Stephanie Zvirin

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by
Publisher's Weekly Review

A fox who flambées and fillets? Unfeasible? Not according to this alliterative tale, which introduces chef Fosdyke and his four siblings: Frank, Floyd, Freddy and Flo. When the quintet's mother scurries off for a five-day trip to Florida, all the young foxes but Fosdyke decide to ``filch fowl from the farmyard'' for food. But on repeated raids of the henhouse (conducted on February 4 at the F-filled times of 4:15, 4:45 and 5:15 a.m.), they come up empty-pawed. Fortunately, an apron-clad Fosdyke has prepared a feast of fries, fungi, fish and figs, which his siblings warm to after their final failure at fetching fowl. (``What fascinating flavors,'' they cry.) Cole's (illustrator of Some Small Slugs, also by Edwards) ink and pastel illustrations of masked foxes, egg-throwing chickens and bandaged tails add a healthy dose of energetic humor to the tongue-twister text. The book also offers a challenge``How many objects beginning with the letter `F' can you find in this book?''for those who feel finding F's is fantastically fun. Ages 4-9. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Gr 1-3A family of fox kits, left to fend for themselves when their mother sets off on a trip to Florida, plot to ``...filch fowl from the farmyard.'' Between 4:15 and 5:15 a.m., they make three unsuccessful forays, winding up on the short end of the stick whether dealing with feathered fowl, a ferocious foxhound, or a furious farmer. Fortunately, their Francophile brother, Fosdyke, has stayed at home and prepared a delicious meal of flan, french fries, and figs. The foxes, whose expressive faces fade from bright-eyed mischievousness to frazzled chagrin, are engaging characters, and the nighttime scenes of the farm are effectively noir, but the device of using so many ``F'' words wears thin well before the story does. The sound gag will also make reading the book aloud a formidable tongue-twisting task. Young browsers may enjoy looking for the 60-plus items beginning with the letter ``F.'' Or, they may just become frustrated.Anna DeWind, Milwaukee Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Pamela Duncan Edwards was born in England. She became a school librarian when she moved to the United States with her husband and children. She eventually started writing children's books. Her works include Livingstone Mouse; Roar! A Noisy Counting Book; The Worrywarts; Clara Caterpillar; Wake-Up Kisses; Dear Tooth Fairy; McGillycuddy Could!; and The Neat Line.